Denise Goldberg's blog

Sunday, August 30, 2009

I had a fabulous wander in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but I have to admit it is good to be home. Yesterday's all day rainfall gave me some much needed rest and relaxation time, and today's warm sunshine provided the incentive to get out on my bike.

I've started to go through my photos, to pick those I'd like to share. Two weeks of photos. From a numbers standpoint, I suppose it was good that my camera felt it needed to hide on some of those wet days! For now, I'm enjoying the review and selection process. I'll post here and in my travel journal to let you know when images crop up in my galleries for viewing. For now, there are (just) a couple of images in my travel journal.

To whet your appetite... here's a late day photo from Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Just a quick reminder that I'm still wandering in Atlantic Canada. I'm not sure that today can (or should) be classified as a wandering day since I'm currently sitting comfortably at my B&B, waiting for the rain to switch from a downpour to more of a drizzle so I can do some walking.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

You've probably heard me complain about how bad the street signs are in northeastern Massachusetts. If you're on a road that goes somewhere - as opposed to wandering through a neighborhood - there is no sign on the corner of the road proclaiming its name. There are signs on the teeny tiny streets, but not the more heavily traveled roads. I suppose the assumption is that everyone must know the name, so why spend the money for a sign?

I was just out walking. As I approached a corner, a postman pulled his truck to the side of the road, popped out, and said "I know, I'm supposed to be answering the question... but do you know where Summer St. is?" He was lucky that happened to be a street name that I knew, and that it was the cross street at the corner just ahead.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

I headed out on my bike late this afternoon under a clear blue sky decorated with pure white clouds. I was just five minutes out when the wind kicked up and gray rolled in. I thought about turning around, but my wheels kept right on rolling...

The sky went from solid dark gray to an interesting, almost painted, background of clouds, occasionally decorated with a spot of blue.

As I looped towards home, I started hearing occasional rumbles of thunder. Thunder, wind, moving clouds, thunder. I kept rolling down the road, arriving home wet from sweat as opposed to soaked by rain. As soon as I rolled my bike inside, the rain started. My timing? I would have to say it was perfect!

Sunday, August 09, 2009

I'm so glad I went wandering around Dale Rogers' web site Thursday night. Thursday morning's Boston Globe article mentioned that he was traveling with his big dog sculptures over the next month; when I looked a bit further I found that 20 of his dogs would be gracing a town park in Haverhill this weekend. That's close - the next town north of here.

Friday afternoon I grabbed my camera, jumped on my bike, and headed up to visit the dogs. There was a Friday afternoon gathering in the park, people and music. I wandered, chatted with others wondering at the very big dogs, and yes, I took a few photos. I headed back yesterday morning, hoping for some quiet time alone with the dogs. I shared my morning wanders with two other photographers, and with a couple who were posing their cooperative (live, tail-wagging) dog atop one of the big dogs.

Thursday, August 06, 2009

The humidity has disappeared, leaving a very comfortable day behind. Dry air and temperatures in the 70s were perfect conditions for wandering, for enjoying the pictures painted in the sky with clouds.

This morning's Boston Globe had an article about Dale Rogers, a sculptor who uses metal to make a statement with his very large dogs. One of his creations lives at the edge of his farm not too far from where I live, easily visible from the southbound side of I-495. The current dog who lives there is 16 feet tall. According to the article, the artist is planning to replace it with one that stands 42 feet tall. I can't wait to see that one!

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Experimenting with a macro lens has really captured my attention this year. I have a 50mm compact macro that I bought with my first dSLR. Would I buy a 100mm lens rather than the 50mm that I already own if I were buying the macro now? I honestly don't know. I like the size of the 50mm lens - it tucks into a very small space. But oh! more reach is always good.

I recently became aware of a lens converter that is available for my macro. The description of my extra toy from the Canon web site:

This optional accessory is designed to work strictly with the EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro lens. Unlike typical life-size adapters, the Life Size Converter EF actually has optics that are optimized for high magnification when combined with the 50mm macro lens. Magnifications from 0.26x (approx. 1/4 life-size) to 1.0x (true life size) are possible, at increased working distances.

Yes, you guessed correctly - I did buy one. I played with it a bit on an after-work walk last week, and that left me with the feeling that I needed better access to flowers.

Today I headed to the Stevens-Coolidge Place, a property owned by The Trustees of Reservations. It's about a mile and a half from home, and it's another place that I've ridden by on my bike but that I've never visited before. I thought that the gardens would be a good place to play.

Taking close-ups of flowers is an interesting challenge. The wind moves the petals, and the photographer (yes, me!) can't seem to stay still either. I was using a monopod, and that did help. A tripod would be steadier, but I wouldn't be able to get close enough to the flowers with my 3-legged pod. The challenge - besides movement - is deciding which small piece of the image should be in focus. I'm tossing a very high percentage of my shots right now. Actually I have a feeling that this could be a type of photo where I'll continue to toss more than I keep, probably by a pretty large margin. I have a few keepers, and as long as I'm enjoying myself - and I am - I'll continue to explore macros.

I have UV filters that I keep on my camera's lenses when I am not using the graduated ND filters. That means when I am using the grad ND filters that I need a home for the simple filters. I've had a filter wallet for a while, one that is supposed to fit 3 filters. It does, but I've never been very happy with it - things just feel too tight.

I recently discovered that OP/TECH USA has something they call a Filter Pack that is a simple neoprene sleeve that takes two filters, one on each side. At the same time I ordered my Filter Packs (from B&H, where else?!?), I discovered some neoprene pouches from Zing Designs. Filter Packs fit into pouches, perfect!